On Translating Culture: Translation Strategies of Cultural Elements in the Novel "The Shadow of the Wind"

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the different translation strategies of cultural elements and cultural references in a contemporary Spanish novel translated from Spanish into English, ”The Shadow of the Wind” (La sombra del viento), to highlight the importance of cultural elements in translation. Through a detailed textual analysis and based on the notions in translation theory proposed by two outstanding German translation scholars of the German School of functionalist translation theory, Hans J. Vermeer and Christiane Nord, this article attempts to carefully compare the Spanish original and the English translation of the novel. How to identify cultural factors in order to take the most appropriate translation strategy in a particular context has become one of the translator's tasks.